OneDa

• FORMULA ONEDA •

“OneDa’s story is so clearly mirrored in her music: a sprightly flow preaching a message of empowerment, enveloped in a dark, raucous soundscape…interlacing vibrant, punchy lyrics with that classic drum & bass sound has given OneDa a new lease of life.” 

– DJ Magazine –

An artist who refuses to be boxed in, OneDa’s music speaks for itself. Always beginning with her own intrepid demeanour and dexterous wordplay, her tracks incorporate elements from the hip-hop and drum and bass scenes of her home city of Manchester before adding an eclectic mix of afro-trap and tinges of afrobeats that lean into her Nigerian heritage.Oneda’s expertise transcends mere lyrical skill; it involves effortlessly merging her chicaning poetic verses with the ever-changing rhythm of shifting beats. Her boundless linguistic talent distinguishes her as a unique force of nature and a master craftswoman. Named by The Face as one of the key MC’s at the forefront of the drum ‘n’ bass renaissance, OneDa is a multihyphenate who has long focused on empowering others. Now, she is speeding off the starting grid on her own with her self-produced debut album, ‘Formula OneDa’, due out in the Autumn of 2024 on Heavenly Recordings. 

On the ethos behind the album, OneDa adds: “In early 2023, while listening to my mixtape demos, the line ‘had to step away, get the levels up fast, Formula OneDa never come last’ from my song ‘Off My Light’ stood out. We decided to name my album ‘Formula Oneda’. Coincidentally, I discovered that the F1 Academy had just started, aligning perfectly with my album’s vision. For the first time in over 30 years, Formula 1 has created a platform to inspire and support young girls and women. Previously indifferent to Formula 1, I am now excited by the progress these women are making in the male-dominated racing circuit. While becoming a racing driver was never my goal, the F1 Academy metaphor fits my journey from a backmarker to a leader. This year, I plan to support these inspiring women as they drive with Pussy Power to take pole position in motorsports.”

“I know female producers that do drum’n’bass, but not really female spitters. It’s few and far between. It’s naturally masculine because it’s filled with masculinity, if you know what I mean. So the more females like myself that come out and show we can spin it as good as the guys, it’s gonna infiltrate some of that female energy.”

– The art of drum’n’bass MCing, according to the new generation – The Face – 2023 –

Growing up inspired by fiery American rappers such as Eve, Nas, Missy Elliott and Lauryn Hill, her signature Mancunian drawl inflected with Pidgin English results in something that is quintessentially OneDa. Raised in Hulme in a churchgoing, strictly religious Nigerian household, her heritage is a strong feature of her sound, with a mission to put aspects of her true self in her music. With a musical background that started with learning to read music at age six, moving to Gorton age seven and  performing in gospel group ‘In Depth’, OneDa found her way in Manchester’s hip-hop scene. For years, she toured as lead rapper with The Mouse Outfit then more recently found herself drawn into the city’s thriving drum and bass scene that has produced the likes of Zed Bias and Trigger. Her signature #MannyOnTheRise tagline is a regular feature in her work and social platforms. “Manchester’s my birthplace, it’s the place where I fell in love with music,” she says. “I see Manchester as still a part of myself, even though I am a Nigerian woman, but this has been my home forever. I see myself on the rise, so Manchester comes with it.” 

Although only stepping into music production for the first time two years ago, OneDa has created a masterful LP that demonstrates her adeptness across the multiple musical lanes she traverses. Across her releases to date OneDa has collaborated with Sam Binga, Songer, Devilman, Mr Scruff, Superlative, Renee Stormz, Fat Budha to name a few. She also delivered a standout verse on Vibe Chemistry’s D’n’B smash ‘Ballin’ which has over 35 million streams. Her first fully produced song ‘Rude Girl Flex’ landed OneDa her first spot on the BBC 6 Music playlist and an appearance at this year’s BBC 6 Music Festival, solidifying her as a firm new favourite artist at the station, a significant seal of approval for her.

Her pathway into production comes from her innate ability to self-motivate, and wanting to pay homage to her late father by taking her career into her own hands. “I was searching for beats, I was bursting to make music and I was writing but I needed to make songs, put them into something,” OneDa says. “There were things that my father wanted to do and that he wanted to set in place that he didn’t manage to do before he died. So that made me think, look, I can’t be sitting here. This is my actual career and it’s being put on hold.”

This spirit is heard from the very first note of “Set It Off”, the first single from Formula OneDa and a production collaboration with Fat Budha that combines a chassis of bombastic drum and bass with sharp and self assured lyricism. “Just do you and kill it / The right energy will feel it, innit / My gyal just fly / Do more than just survive,” she spits as a call to arms to step into your own “Pussy Power” and live for oneself. Defining “Pussy Power” as “the power of my unapologetic self of accepting the fullness of who I am,” this spirit permeates the entire album. “Superwoman”, with its infectious breakbeat and repeated refrain of “Now I’m powered up”, “Leader”, simultaneously frenetic and melodic, and OneDa’s favourite on the album in which she states “I was born to a bad gyal, yo / I was born to be a leader yano / I was born to be a boss bitch”, and the afro-trap inflected “Over My Dead Body”, a collaboration with fellow Mancunian PRIDO with a defiant chorus that states “Bad bitch me no take permission / Just wait till I finish and dun”. Idiosyncratic in her drawing on a range of genres, OneDa is a cultural chameleon craftily injecting her worldliness into her sound. This is evident in her chosen collaborators and features, highlighting diasporic talent from around Manchester to align with her #MannyOnTheRise ethos. Her team consists of Miss Stylie and Superlative, both rappers in their own right who can be heard on “The Plug” and are regular features on the road with OneDa. Both are part of her invigorating live shows, being DJ and hype man respectively. “They’re beyond just being my team in music. They’re just my people,” she says. “The Plug is something that I wrote for the tour that I did last year with Kneecap. I wanted some fresh songs so I wrote The Plug and it just went off every time I performed it, people loved it.” Other features include Renee Stormz, an “honorary Mancunian”, having been based in the city for eight years, as well as Ace Clvrk and Princethekid, who breathe afro-pop sounds into the album.

Rather than any one artist, OneDa looks at “empowerment” as her greatest inspiration. “It’s about leading your own path,” she says. “I used to make music when I didn’t really have a direction for it. Now I fully believe the power in this world comes from your own comfort within yourself. And that’s why I try and push. You just have to start with yourself. Don’t let anyone or anything restrict you.” Having previously felt restricted, she grew up with parents who were pastors in a religious and cultural household that was not accepting of her queerness and she battled the inner demons within herself, “I used to be a very depressive person, I just used to be down and cared what everyone was saying, fought and wanted acceptance,” she says. “That held me back from not letting anyone know that I was a lesbian, because one, being a Nigerian household, you’re demonic, automatically”. With her since found spirituality that sits outside of traditional religion but rather, looks to a higher power, she summarises her work with one short message – be free. “When you truly love yourself that overpowers anyone else’s opinion,” she says. “If I like something and a million people don’t like it, trust me, it’s still sick.” 

OneDa’s constant evolution includes some exceptional live accolades: She headlined with Angélique Kidjo on stage, to launch Aviva Studios (Factory International) in Manchester alongside Layfullstop and Ellen Beth Abdi; supported Baxter Dury and Kneecap on their UK tours and headlined Manchester Pride 2023.

This summer there are appearances confirmed on multiple stages at this year’s Glastonbury Festival and at Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here weekend prior to the release of Formula OneDa, 2024 looks set to be the year that OneDa turbocharges. So, fasten seat belts, foot down, accelerate and try to keep up with the Boss Bitch, the Leader Yano.

Written by Jumi Akinfenwa.